Running this summer now through August 10, Universal Studios Hollywood has debuted Universal Mega Movie Summer, an all-new event designed to celebrate some of the most iconic movies in film history through several new offerings available to all park guests to help them beat the heat amidst summertime crowds.
Inside Universal was recently invited by Universal Studios Hollywood to check out an overview of all Universal Mega Movie Summer has to offer, which we will share with you in detail here.
Many of the new offerings are widely spread around the park, so we’ll begin with the new additions on the Upper Lot and work our way down to the Lower Lot to provide a clear sense of direction.
To celebrate the 50th Golden Anniversary of Jaws, longtime fans of Universal Studios Hollywood will be excited to see that the theme park has brought back its iconic hanging shark as a larger-than-life sculpture photo op, located across from the WaterWorld entrance. Here, guests also have the opportunity to meet Captain Quint and Chef Brody from the film – two meet and greet characters brand-new to the park.
Around the corner from the Jaws meet and greet, Hollywood & Dine has been transformed into Amity Island Café, serving up a menu of Jaws-inspired eats including the Fish and Chips, Fish and Chicken Basket, Lobster Roll, Vegan Crab Cake Sandwich, Shark Bait Burger, Shark Fin Funnel Cake, Amity Island Parfait, Amity Beach Lifesaver Donut, as well as The Shake Bite cocktail and the Amity Open Water mocktail beverages.
Continuing with the celebration of this monumental anniversary of the release of Jaws, guests can also experience the iconic Jaws Studio Tour attraction in all its glory, with the town of Amity Island decked out in festive Fourth of July decorations for the summer.
Further, guests and fans of Universal Pictures’ blockbuster film Wicked have the chance to enjoy the positively “ozmopolitan” meet and greet with the incredibly “popular” characters of Elphaba and Glinda, who previously made their debut exclusively at Universal Fan Fest Nights. Now, all guests visiting the park will have the chance to meet them at the pink and green designated photo op location, found outside the store dedicated to all things Wicked adjacent to the main entrance.
Additionally, as part of the continued commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the film Back to the Future, guests will find the iconic time-traveling DeLorean staged adjacent to Mel’s Diner. Here, you can meet the characters of Doc Brown, Marty McFly, and Einstein the dog, striking your best timeless poses for a photo op together.
Across the way, Mel’s Diner continues to serve up a Back to the Future inspired menu that initially debuted with the Universal Fan Fest Nights event, including the Flux Capacitor Patty Melt, Time Machine Pastrami Melt, Doc Brown’s Chicken Pot Pie, Outtatime Cookie, Time Traveler’s Milk Shake, Flux Capacitor Mocktail, and Wake Up Juice Cocktail.
Inside Universal Plaza, guests will find a sculpted dimensional photo op of Toothless from the new Universal Pictures and DreamWorks live-action movie, How to Train Your Dragon. This 730-pound figure towers at nearly 6’ in height and measures 24’ in length and 8’ in width, making for some eye-catching photos.
Scrumptious treats inspired by How to Train Your Dragon – such as Toothless and Light Fury cookies and a Toothless popcorn bucket – will also be available for purchase at a dedicated food cart in the area.
Additionally found in Universal Plaza is an exciting sneak peek at one of the recently unveiled Dodge Charger ride vehicles for Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, designed to look like Dominic Toretto’s 1970 Dodge Charger.
Down on the Lower Lot, the Mega Movie Summer celebration continues with Jurassic World. To commemorate the start of summer, Jurassic World: The Ride has been spruced up to provide a more intense experience than ever. Not only will all guests walk away from the ride soaked to the skin, but the iconic 84-foot drop at the ride’s finale also powerfully reverberates with the menacing roar of a Mosasaurus, paired with water geysers erupting to shower all guests on board.
Guests can also pay to use the water blasters added to the overlook of the end of the final drop if they want the chance to give an extra splash to unsuspecting riders in boats passing by.
Moreover, four new Dilophosaurs – also known as spitters – have been added to the ride to pop out and spray guests with jets of water in their characteristic fashion.
Outside of the additions to Jurassic World: The Ride, the new dinosaur, the Aquilops from Jurassic World Rebirth – playfully referred to as “Dolores” – now meets and greets guests alongside the debut of an all-new adventure character inspired by the film.
Guests can also take advantage of a larger-than-life photo op of a Spinosaurus dinosaur close to the ride’s entrance and participate in a scavenger hunt game featuring adorable Compy dinosaurs hidden throughout the area.
Last but not least inside the park, Jurassic Café has also received some new additions to its menu, as well as Isla Nu-bar, which now features new cocktails called The Jurassic Water Rebirth and Spicy Jurassic Pearadise.
Outside the theme park, Universal CityWalk Hollywood features a handful of offerings for Universal Mega Movie Summer as well. Voodoo Doughnut now offers the Doughnut Go in the Water inspired by Jaws, as well as the Little Stepper and Big Stepper treats inspired by Jurassic World Rebirth.
Guests can also find an additional selection of themed merchandise aligned with Universal Mega Movie Summer at the Universal Studio Store and Cartooniversal locations in CityWalk, as well as enjoy a variety of DJs and stage performances at the Five Towers Stage.
In cleverly borrowing and expanding upon a handful of the popular entertainment offerings featured at the recent inaugural Universal Fan Fest Nights event, Universal Mega Movie Summer has managed to successfully add an extra element of charm to the theme park for the summer. Given the long wait times and intense crowd levels characteristic of this time of the year, we hope that these new additions will help keep crowds a bit more spread out and entertained even on some of the hottest and busiest days ahead.
The recent successful run of Universal Fan Fest Nights clearly demonstrated the warm reception guests provide to the addition of new entertainment and character meet and greet opportunities in the theme park, and bringing many of those same characters back for daytime entertainment is a smart move we hope to see Universal Studios Hollywood continue to expand upon in the future. Our appreciation of live entertainment offerings and how much of a positive impact they can make cannot be understated, and we look forward to continuing to enjoy all that the theme park has to offer.
We thank Universal Studios Hollywood again for inviting us out to check out Universal Mega Movie Summer, as well as the highly anticipated unveiling of the ride vehicle for Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, which opens in 2026.
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